The Indian equity market saw another day of losses, with the Nifty index logging its longest losing streak on record, falling for the tenth consecutive session. The Nifty ended down by 37 points, closing at 22,083, while the Sensex slipped by 96 points to settle at 72,990. Despite the persistent weakness in the broader market, the Nifty Bank index managed to close in the green, supported by buying in key banking stocks like State Bank of India (SBI) and HDFC Bank, which saw gains of 131 points to finish at 48,245.
The broader markets showed a relatively stronger performance, with the Midcap index ending slightly higher, up 24 points at 48,008. This marks a minor gain amidst the broader market weakness. The market breadth was slightly in favour of advances, with the advance-decline ratio standing at 3:2, signalling some strength in individual stocks despite the overall market downturn.
Among sectors, oil marketing companies (OMCs) saw buying interest following a sharp decline in crude oil prices, with their stocks gaining 3-4%. Meanwhile, defense and railway stocks showed resilience, with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) emerging as some of the top gainers of the session.
On the downside, the auto sector continued to underperform, with three of the top Nifty losers being auto stocks. Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp hit 52-week lows, closing down 5% and 3%, respectively. This marked continued weakness in the sector.
India Cements stood out among the midcap stocks, surging 15%, making it one of the top gainers of the day. Meanwhile, Swiggy and Zomato saw gains of 2-7%, supported by positive brokerage notes.
In contrast, the midcap segment also saw its share of losers, with Adani Green, Supreme Industries, Paytm, Jubilant Foodworks, and Coromandel International among the top decliners. Selling pressure in midcap IT stocks continued, with LTIMindtree, Persistent Systems, and Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS) leading the losses in that space.
Overall, while the indices remained under pressure, there were pockets of strength in specific sectors, including defense, railway, and certain midcap stocks, providing some relief to investors.
